


Fait Acompli

by bluestargirl6 (pressdbtwnpages)



Category: Grind, The OC
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-08
Updated: 2005-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-04 14:36:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pressdbtwnpages/pseuds/bluestargirl6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan finds love with Seth's lookalike.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fait Acompli

Ryan and Dustin were a fait accompli by the time Seth got home.

Which was just, whoa, on so many levels.

Firstly, because Ryan was home. Seth wasn't exactly sure why Ryan was home and Ryan wasn't saying. But he was home and so Seth really sort of didn't care why.

And Ryan was apparently gay. Ryan was gay? What the hell? Since when? When exactly had that happened? Because as far as Seth could recall, the entirety of Ryan's drama over the past year had been lady-drama. On second thought, maybe that was why Ryan was gay.

Not that Ryan being gay was even an issue for Seth. He was Ryan. Seth's best friend. The guy who always had Seth's back -in a not at all gay sense- no matter what. Seth did sort of have some slight issues with Dustin however.

It wasn't so much that Dustin was Ryan's boyfriend, though that was definitely taking some getting used too, but in case no one had noticed, Seth and Dustin bore a more than passing resemblance to each other. They didn't just look alike either. Seth liked skateboarding, Dustin was a pro-skater. One of these days Seth would have to take some time to think about just how cool that was. But right now he was slightly more concerned with the possibility that maybe Ryan might be transferring some feelings about Seth to Dustin. Which gave Seth issues.

'Cause Seth was straight. Really, seriously straight. Homophobic comments aside, because Luke and his goons had gotten that one wrong. Hello? Summer. Yeah, straight. Definitely.

Not that that made the Ryan situation any less weird. How do you deal with your best friend maybe being in love with you? What made it worse was that Seth didn't know for sure. It wasn't like he could just ask Ryan-

"Hey Seth."

"Dustin. Hey. Looking for Ryan?"

"Always. Is that Tony Hawk?" Dustin glanced at the television screen Seth had been zoning out in front of.

"Yeah. You want to?" Seth held up the extra controller.

"Sure," Dustin accepted the controller and sat next to Seth.

The boys played in silence for awhile.

"So," Seth began.

"Yeah?"

"Um, do you think it's at all weird that we look a lot alike?" Seth wondered.

Dustin shot him a look that had to have been acquired from Ryan.

"I guess," Dustin focused intently on the video game. Seth had concluded that the conversation was over before the older boy spoke again. "I don't think there's anything to it though. It's coincidence."

"You think?" Seth let out a sigh of relief.

Dustin turned to look at Seth.

"We aren't the same person Seth," Dustin stated firmly.

"I know that," It was Seth's turn to become absorbed with the video game.

The boys played on, chatting occasionally.

"This is frightening," Ryan strolled into the room. "The two of you should not be allowed to hang out without my supervision."

"Please, Man-of-Mystery, it's not like you tell us anything anyway," Seth pointed out as Ryan twined his arms around Dustin's neck and rested his chin on Dustin's head.

"You know enough," Seth snorted his disagreement at Ryan's statement.

"Whatever. It's not like Dustin and I were sitting here gossiping about you."

"Right. 'Cause that'd be gay," Ryan teased his brother.

"Dude have you seen Summer? I get how being with Marissa could have -"

"Seth, stop. Please."

"Thank you. I wasn't sure where I was going with that," Seth admitted.

"Nowhere good."

"Yeah, probably. Anyway, my point is-"

"I know Seth. Summer's hot. I agree."

"Hey!" Dustin exclaimed with annoyance.

"So are you," Ryan assured him. "Besides, Summer's a girl."

"You sound like a second-grader. 'Ew, girls are yucky!'" Seth mimicked.

"They are," Ryan and Dustin said together.

Seth rolled his eyes.

"You are so wrong," Seth shook his head. "I gotta go call my girlfriend."

******

"Mmm," Dustin moaned as Ryan's fingers roamed his body. "So Seth said something earlier that made me think."

"Uhh," Ryan was focused on Dustin's collar bone.

"Are you with me because I look like Seth?"

Ryan jerked away from the other boy.

"What?!"

"Well it is an interesting coincidence that we look so much alike," Dustin pointed out calmly.

"I can't believe you're asking me this," Ryan said flatly. "You know how I feel about you. You know how I feel about Seth. You saw first-hand how messed-up I was when he was missing. Seth's my best friend. He's my brother. Yeah, I love him. He's Seth. But that doesn't mean I love him!"

Dustin leaned forward to kiss Ryan.

"It's okay baby, it is. I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry I asked, but, I needed to know," Dustin apologized. "It's just, I get what it's like to have a strong attachment to your straight best friend, to love him like a brother."

"Oh really? And why have I never met this amazing best friend?" Ryan asked, leaning into his lover.

"I don't know. You should. Eric's..." Dustin trailed off as he focused on caressing Ryan.

"Special?" Ryan shuddered as Dustin's hands slipped into his pants.

"How about we table the Seth/Eric conversation for awhile?"

"Yeah," Ryan gasped, "definitely."

******

Ryan sat next to Dustin at the table. He studied the Denny's menu with fascination.

"Nervous?"

"No."

"Ryan."

"Are you?"

"Yeah, a little actually. I mean, it's Eric. It's not like if this goes badly he'll stop speaking to me. But you guys are both really important to me. I'd love for you to like each other," Dustin explained.

"He does know you're gay, right?"

"Yeah," Dustin hesitated. "I've, uh, never actually introduced him to anyone before though."

"You haven't?"

"No."

"So I'm your first?" Ryan grinned up at his boyfriend.

"Ryan... Eric!" Dustin gestured to the guy standing in the doorway. Eric. Who was blond, blue-eyed, and if you squinted…

Ryan shot a sideways look at Dustin who squirmed sheepishly.

"You think we might have issues?" Ryan wondered.

"At least we're in it together," Dustin took Ryan's hand under the table and squeezed it tightly.

"Hey D," Eric drawled, strolling over to them.

Dustin stood, tapped fists with the guy. "What's up buddy?"

"You know. Fight with Jamie. The usual."

"Two divas should not coexist," Dustin agreed with a laugh. "I take it you guys are done in room 126?"

"The honeymoon's definitely over." Eric agreed. "It's all yours. This must be your… new… friend."

"Ryan. Yeah." Dustin sat down, "Eric, Ryan. Ryan, Eric"

"Hey," Ryan nodded across the table at Eric. "Nice to meet you."

"Um, yeah. You too."

The waitress arrived, took their orders and left, and still no conversation had started.

"So this is…" Dustin looked from his best friend to his boyfriend "…awkward."

Eric snorted. "Leave it to you to state the obvious."

"Yeah." Ryan agreed. "So, um… you guys were on tour together. How was that?"

"I think technically we're still on tour. We're just, uh, on a break." Dustin stammered uncomfortably.

Eric shrugged. "Whatever. They'll call when they get up and running again. Being on tour was cool."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Being on tour was all bars and girls and fart jokes."

"Like I said, what's not to love?" Eric and Dustin's eyes caught and both guys burst out laughing.

"Yeah. I still think our road trip was more fun," Dustin protested.

"Road trip?" Ryan asked.

"You thought it was more fun than being on tour? You HATED that trip."

"I did not. Just because I funded it, and spent the entire time getting hit, and peed on, and puked on, doesn't mean I hated it," Dustin protested before turning to Ryan. "The summer after we graduated, Eric here had the brilliant idea to follow the Jimmy Wilson tour around until we got discovered."

"It worked didn't it?" Eric asked defensively as their meals were served.

"Yeah, thanks to me and Matt planting our tape on Jimmy's bus. And Jamie."

"Yeah, yeah, we owe Jamie."

"And me." Dustin pointed out defensively.

"Yes, yes, we couldn't have done it without you," Eric agreed dismissively before digging into his eggs.

******

"So that was Eric," Dustin commented as he and Ryan watched the other boy drive out of the restaurant parking lot. "What did you think?"

"You guys are tight. It's cool, listening to you talk about your life."

"Yeah. He's... he's my Seth," Dustin agreed.

"Maybe, but he isn't me. I'm not him." Ryan stated.

"No. I never thought you were," Dustin was confused.

"It's just, short, blue-eyed, blond guy? Tall, curly-haired brunette?" Ryan shrugged. "It's... interesting."

"Yeah. So we have friendship issues," Dustin turned to Ryan, "but we also have each other."

Ryan flashed his boyfriend a goofy grin. "Yeah. We do."


End file.
